Broken Pieces
by Kavbj
Summary: The world is cruel, life unfair, and Boris and Voltaire have somehow miraculously won the court case against them. Confused and lost, the Blitzkreig Boys band together in hopes of pulling through. With the Bladebreakers help, perhaps the sun will shine.
1. Prologue

_**Broken Pieces**_

_Prologue_

He was tired. No, beyond tired. How did exhausted sound? Still not strong enough. If he didn't get sleep soon, he'd be passing out in the middle of the room and causing the team to panic. And a panicking Bladebreaker was never good because... well, does it really need explaining?

"Go sleep," Rei murmured, coming up behind his captain and speaking lowly so that only Kai could hear. "You got back from Russia two days ago and still haven't slept. I know you're scared – " Kai opened his mouth to protest but ended up grimacing as Rei squeezed his shoulder painfully in order to keep him quiet. "Don't deny it. But you're so tired, you probably won't even dream. You'll be fine."

Finally shrugging off Rei's hand, Kai grunted and stood. Too quickly apparently, he thought as he swayed dangerously and dots danced across his vision of the living room. He waited patiently for them to clear, scowling when it took longer than it should have, but he couldn't really do much about that.

Maybe he should go to bed, like Rei suggested. Though, it was only three in the afternoon... but with how tired he was, Kai had a feeling he'd sleep until next Tuesday – he was cool with eight days of sleep.

But just the thought of sleeping sent chills down his spine. He couldn't. Not so soon after the court case... not so soon after – he was going to be sick. Clamping a hand over his mouth, Kai allowed himself to fall back onto the couch, willing the nausea and the tears to pass. Rei didn't say anything, and he was thankful for the TV show captivating the attention of everyone else.

A hand that wasn't his own slipped into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Rei handed it to him wordlessly, and one glance at the screen told him Rei had already dialled the desired number. Kai held it to his ear and left the room. His mind was spinning as he waited for the other to answer.

"The thought hit you again, hey?" Tala asked rhetorically as he picked up. He sighed and leant back against the bench, waiting for the meal Spencer had offered to conjure up for him. "You thrown up yet? Cried? I know you well, you weak Hiwatari."

"Shut up," Kai whispered, finding he was too tired to do much else.

"Ah," said Tala, nodding his head and closing his eyes. "I see you haven't slept yet either."

Kai leant back against the wall. Why had he called? Why'd he bothered? He'd known what mood Tala would be in and it would only end up with both of them in an argument, then Bryan would get involved and – Kai shivered and slid down the wall. He did _not_ want to think of Bryan right now. Just... just _no_. Ian and Spencer were much cheerier people to think of... in a sense.

"How's Bryan?" Kai forced himself to ask, though he really didn't want to think of Bryan _at all_. "Seen him yet?"

"Hasn't been home yet."

"Not since the case?"

"Not since he bolted from the room _during _the case."

"I was hoping to leave that detail out."

"Well aware of that, weakling."

Kai glared at the floorboards, wishing they were the face of Tala as he slammed his fist down on them. "Stop it, Tala. Stop fucking playing with me."

"Well grow a pair and I might!" Tala snapped, standing upright and curling his hands into fists.

There was silence for a few moments before Tala's broken voice met Kai's ears and he sighed. He'd been waiting for this change of mood – had seen it coming since the verdict had been announced.

"What do we do now?"

Kai closed his eyes and heard Rei walk past. Ah, could the tiger be any more supportive? He'd been a silent encouragement the whole way through, even bothering to check on Kai as he was on the phone. "...you come here," Kai whispered, opening his eyes slightly. "All of you come here. You need to get out of Russia, for numerous reasons. Mr Granger won't mind – the senior one before you ask – and you know what Tyson and the others are like."

"When?"

"I booked the flight for midnight tonight," Kai replied, finally pushing himself to his feet. Tala was his best friend; of course he'd known roughly when the change was coming. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye."

Kai didn't bother hanging up; just let the phone fall to the ground as he went looking for Rei. He valued Rei's friendship almost as much as he did Tala's and right now, he needed someone who understood, but understood enough to know that Kai didn't want them to say anything. He just wanted them there.

He found the neko-jin in the kitchen, sitting at the table and staring boredly out the window. There were two mugs of hot chocolate on the table, one sitting in front of an empty seat. Kai smirked. Rei knew him as well as Kai knew Tala, it would seem.

He took his place and joined Rei in staring out of the window. He was still so tired, but he'd sleep later. Or pass out. One of the two. Whichever came first.

...Or Rei could drag him in the direction of the bedroom. That works too, Kai thought as Rei led him down the hallway and silently pushed open the door. He shoved Kai in the direction of the bed and stood there with his arms crossed, waiting.

Rei knew he knew Kai as well as Kai knew Tala, so he had totally foreseen Kai's walls breaking and had even gone to the trouble of placing a plastic waste basket by the bed, knowing that the troubling thoughts would be enough to make Kai throw up the small amount he'd eaten for lunch.

And of course he knew the small emotional breakdown would take the rest of Kai's energy, so he was already there when Kai's mind and body finally shut down and the tired teen finally collapsed. As Rei caught him, he finally allowed himself to relax and he sighed as he gripped the Russian teen firmly.

"You dolt," he whispered as he placed Kai on the bed. Not under the covers, because Kai would only kick them off. "You of all people know that if you lose, you keep fighting."

Rei lowered his gaze and clenched his fists. Sighing again, he brushed off the thoughts and headed for the door, gazing back at Kai one last time before closing the door. He headed silently down the hallway and rejoined the others in the living room.

"He finally pass out?" asked Tyson, five minutes later. Rei's head snapped up, shocked. He often forgot how perceptive Tyson could be. Tyson took the silence as a yes. "Good. The others coming tomorrow?"

"Yeah, heard Kai telling Tala that he'd see them tomorrow," Rei answered, moving off the couch and joining Tyson on the carpeted floor. "Don't pester them."

Tyson gave a small smile and shrugged. "Can't help it if I do. You know it'll only end up helping them take their mind off it."

"True that," Rei said with a smile of his own. "You told your brother yet 'bout the outcome?"

"Yeah."

"His reaction?"

"The same as anyone's when you tell them that Boris and Voltaire got off scot free."

* * *

**Ok so I'm back... don't know for how long, don't know where this new story is going, and don't even ask what's happening with my other stories... but for now, enjoy :)**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Broken Pieces**_

_Chapter 1_

It was quiet, Kai noted as he woke up. He kept his eyes closed, didn't bother moving a muscle, but he was awake nonetheless. How strange, he thought, it's quiet. He was suspicious because quiet is not a word often used (try never) to describe his team so naturally, he thought something was up.

Someone else is in the room was the next thing he noted. It wasn't Rei, which was surprising and Kai dimly wondered where the other teen had slept, and it wasn't anyone else from his team. But he knew this person as well as he knew himself.

"For the record, dear weakling," why did he insist on calling him such names? Kai was sure he was out of that mood already. "You look like shit."

Sighing, Kai finally opened his eyes, blinking against the harsh sunlight coming in through the window above the bed. "Thank you, Tala, truly. What the hell would I ever do without you?"

"Good question," was the quiet retort. The redhead was leaning with his side against the wall adjacent to the only other window in the room, looking out over the garden. His hair was down and his arms were crossed, and Kai found himself getting sleepy again with the relaxing atmosphere.

Pushing himself up, Kai swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, steadily approaching the sleepy redhead. When had they arrived, Kai wondered, glancing at the clock. His eyes almost bugged out of his head when he saw the time. The flight was roughly 10 hours long, so they would have landed at 10 in the morning so... well; it was now one in the afternoon.

Had he really slept that long? Kai brushed it off and came to stand beside the quiet teen. They stood there for a while, neither saying anything, just basking in each other's company. It was nice seeing each other under relatively normal circumstances – just catching up, just chilling.

There was a quiet knock at the door and Kai didn't need to even think on who it was as his mind supplied the answer immediately. "Yeah, Rei?"

The door opened just as quietly as the tiger approached, and Kai reprimanded himself mentally as both he and Tala tensed slightly when Rei placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Breakfast is ready for you, Kai, and lunch for you and the others, Tala. If you feel up to eating, that is?"

Kai smirked somewhat at Rei's choice of words. Up to eating rather than feel like eating. Yes, Rei knew him well. And obviously Rei had figured that Tala and the others were somewhat like Kai.

"Sounds good," Tala murmured, finally turning his back to the window. He brushed past Rei and Kai, hand lingering on the doorframe for a moment before he turned into the hallway, calling out for Bryan.

"Bryan's here?" Kai asked, startled. His eyes sought out the golden ones of Rei. "Really?"

Rei smiled and began leading Kai to the kitchen. "Yeah, Tala said he showed up at the airport at the last minute. Apparently, Ian left message upon message, hoping Bryan would get at least one of them."

"And how is he?" Kai asked cautiously. There'd always been bad blood between his two teams, and there always would be, but everyone got past it in some way.

Rei shrugged as they entered the kitchen, muttering, "No different to how we see him, but you may think otherwise."

Kai was, dare he admit it, ecstatic to see both teams within the one kitchen, with no blood spilled on the tiles and no glares creating static charges. He greeted Ian and Spencer with simple nods of acknowledgement, which were returned, before he took in the positions of Tala and Bryan.

Tala had sat away as physically possible from Bryan and was refusing to meet the eyes of the falcon – so clearly he was angry. Bryan was, like Rei said, no different from how they normally saw him: emotionless. But Kai knew the teen well enough to know that he was _too _emotionless.

No matter how many times BioVolt drilled it into their heads, it was impossible for someone to become fully emotionless – they just learnt how to hide their emotions, how to ignore them to the best of their ability, and that, as well as rediscovering those emotions, was undeniably the most painful experience Kai had ever suffered from.

He watched Bryan warily throughout breakfast – or lunch for everyone else – which was scarily _quiet_ and it worried Kai more than he would like to admit. But that blissful and worrisome quiet was interrupted by Hilary as she barged into the kitchen, singing off key at the top of her lungs.

She froze where she was, hands held happily in the air as four glares turned on her. Bryan scoffed and stood, letting his arms fall to his side as he left the room. Tala was up seconds later, none too far behind and with a sigh, Kai figured that he'd better follow. He was surprised, however, when Rei placed a hand on his arm and shook his head, before the neko-jin followed himself.

Frowning slightly, Kai turned back to his cereal, relieved when Ian and Tyson happily started chattering away, and Spencer offered Hilary to help with the dishes. Max joined in on the conversation Tyson and Ian were having, and Diachi was dragged into helping with the dishes, and next thing Kai knew, Kenny was joining them in the kitchen.

Sighing, Kai rested his chin in his hand and watched them contently. He liked this, with no reminders of what had happened the past couple of days. He could forget about it all, until something else was dragged up, or they were called into court again or something – because there was no way anyone was giving up on getting Voltaire and Boris to serve life sentences.

Well, at least Kai and everyone could forget about it until there was the sound of something expensive and probably inherited and probably one of those things you never want to break, smashing to the ground.

He was on his feet an instant later, already knowing what would have happened, already knowing what _could_ happen. Some sixth sense drew him to where three of his most important people were and the scene he saw had his blood boiling.

A picture frame smashed to the ground next as Bryan rammed Tala up against the wall so hard that Tala went cross-eyed for a moment, before he kneed Bryan hard in the stomach and shoved him backwards. Rei danced in between the two when he saw a chance, intending to stop them, but he had to duck quickly to avoid the roundhouse kick Bryan was aiming at Tala.

"Enough!" barked Kai, completely livid. His breath was hissing in pants from between his clenched teeth and his arms were trembling due to his strained muscles. Slowly, all three of the teens before him relaxed, cautiously, with 'oh shit' looks on their faces and turned to face Kai.

Rei wiped blood from the cut on his cheek and took a step forward. "Kai... wait."

But Kai's attention was on the cut on the teen's cheek and he narrowed his eyes. "Tala, Bryan. Out."

"Kai, hang on a moment – "

But Kai cut Rei off. "Out! Get out! Just leave!" Storming up the hallway, he held open the front door and thrust his arm in the general direction of the front gate. "I said leave!" he hollered, his voice cracking at the end. How _could_ they? How fucking _dare_ they! He was going to kill them if they didn't get the hell out!

Both Russians met Kai's gaze evenly, calmly and emotionlessly. Bryan took the first step, and then glanced back at Tala briefly to check he was following. Silently, they left under the gaze of everyone. Kai slammed the door shut behind them and slid down it somewhat. He was breathing heavily and his hands will still shaking but at least now he knew he wouldn't commit murder anytime soon.

"Come on, Rei," he finally managed to get out. "Let's clean that cut."

* * *

Tala and Bryan walked down the city streets in silence. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't comfortable, but neither was it tense. It was just... silence, between friends. Friends who were angry at each other and had previously been pretty keen on landing the other in hospital, but friends nonetheless.

Finally Tala sighed, breaking the strange silence, and ran a hand through his hair as he tipped his head back. "Kai's not going to forgive us very easily. Don't expect to be welcomed back with open arms when we eventually find our way back."

Bryan grunted, not bothering to grace Tala with a verbal response. To this, Tala snarled and he grabbed Bryan's wrist tightly.

"Just what is your problem?" he hissed.

Again, Bryan didn't answer. Instead, he yanked his wrist free and sped up a bit. Tala followed, snarling at the falcon in Russian so that passersby wouldn't understand what he was on about.

"Look," he finally said as they rounded a corner into a deserted alleyway. He cornered Bryan, trapping him against the wall by placing his hands on either side of the other teen's head. "You're not the only one astounded, and confused, and hurt by the outcome. Doesn't mean you can treat us like shit. Your friends are the ones you turn to for help, _not_ the ones you turn against."

Tala searched Bryan's eyes but saw he wasn't getting through. Slowly, he lowered his head so that it rested on Bryan's shoulder. When Bryan's hand came up to hold the back of his head and keep it in place, Tala sagged against him, breathing shakily when Bryan placed his other hand on his back.

"Doesn't mean you disappear and make us fret," Tala whispered forlornly, glad that no one else could see.

"I know," Bryan murmured, lowering his gaze.

"Then why?"

Can't answer that... Bryan thought. You won't understand. "I'm sorry," he said instead, and though Tala realised that Bryan hadn't answered the question he let it slide.

"Come on," he said, pulling back and refusing to meet Bryan's gaze. "Let's tour around a bit then head back. Though he's angry, Kai will start worrying soon."

"Because that's typical Hiwatari behaviour," Bryan said with a smirk. "Or at least typical _Kai_ Hiwatari behaviour."

* * *

He had every godforsaken right to be furious with them. He knew he did. So why the hell was he pacing back and forth, waiting for them to return?

Rei sighed from where he was lazing on the couch, watching Kai pace back and forth. Tilting his head back, he stared at the ceiling boredly, feeling very carefree and lazy. It was quite a satisfying feeling and very different to the side he showed to the public. Only his team, moreover, only _Kai_ had seen him like this on a regular basis.

"Kai," he drawled, turning his head to the side so that Kai was partly upside down. "Relax, they'll be back. You're only going to go off at them when they return, anyway."

Kai turned to face the neko-jin, mentally smirking at the sprawled out form. "You, Ray Kon, should know very well that I don't let anyone get away with hurting my team... even if it's done by my other team. They had no right to drag you into that," Kai added softly as he came to perch on the armrest so that Rei had to tilt his head further back to look at him.

Rei rolled his eyes. "And you should know very well that they probably wouldn't have dragged me into it had they not been so emotional – weird choice of words – and anyway, I dragged myself into it. You should know me well enough to know I would have done so."

"Yeah, unfortunately," Kai muttered, looking out the window and crossing his arms. He smirked as Rei protested and punched his thigh. "Kidding, geez, shouldn't you have known me long enough to pick up on my sarcasm?"

"You mean there are times when you're not using sarcasm?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Rei smiled and shook his head, then raised his arms above his head and stretched. He rolled his neck a bit and closed his eyes, shifting so that he was comfortable. Looking out for Kai had been tiring, but Rei wouldn't have stopped. The court case ripped Kai and the Blitzkrieg Boys to shreds and though Rei hadn't been there, he'd seem some of the live coverage and had talked to Kai over the phone each night, listening quietly as Kai raved and then cried and jumped from one emotional stage to another.

And it affected the team as well, so Rei had had to be extra strong, only letting the stress get to him when he was talking to Kai, knowing that Kai wouldn't, thankfully, feel guilty about stressing Rei out, but would understand. Because the friendship Rei had with Kai was fantastic like that.

"Honey, your toupee is falling to your left side," Rei sung absentmindedly, bopping his head.

Kai let out a startled laugh. "What's that?"

"Dinosaur by Ke$ha. Hils bought the album the other day. Her lyrics are amusing as hell, don't you reckon?" Rei asked, opening his eyes again and meeting amused crimson. There was a swift nod from Kai and Rei smiled. "Knew you would. I know you too well, Hiwatari."

"Likewise, Kon."

The front door suddenly slammed shut, drawing their attention to the sopping wet figures of Bryan and Tala. They moved into the living room, looking at least a little sheepish, as Kai and Rei stared at them.

"I pushed him into the lake..." Bryan elaborated, and Rei and Kai figured the rest out from there.

"Sit," Kai ordered, pointing to the free couch, and Rei sighed, making himself comfortable and closing his eyes, preparing to tune out. Let the yelling begin.

* * *

Bryan sat up slowly, making sure not to wake Tala as he gently removed the arm around his waist. The boy had cried himself to sleep after reading an email that had come through from their lawyer. Too many painful memories of their failure. Tala had deleted it before anyone else could read it, but Bryan could get it from Kai later, because the lawyer would have sent it to Kai as well.

He made his way through the house, weaving in between objects as he walked silently to the front door. Opening it carefully, he grabbed whatever coat he got his hands on and walked out into the cold night air.

He was completely unaware of the fact that Rei had been sitting in the dark, in the kitchen, drinking a glass of milk. Golden eyes followed him until he was out of view.

Shivering, Bryan pulled the jacket closer around him, though he knew he wasn't cold. The shivers were from nerves, which had been caused by guilt. If Tala or Kai, or anyone for that matter, ever found out how he'd been drowning his emotions during the court case, and especially after it, Bryan would never be able to bring himself to look at them again.

The walk was short. A mate in Russia, who had dragged him into this whole mess, told him about the place when he found out he was going to Japan. The place was apparently top-shit and hardcore and all that, but Bryan didn't really care, as long as he got his distraction and his addiction was fed, he'd be fine.

Bryan was surprised to find that the Grangers, who lived in a beautiful, safe district of the city, were so close to such a dingy, unsafe area. He glared at anyone who looked at him funny... hell he glared at anyone who so much as dared to look at him. But soon he was standing at the entrance and glancing up at the flickering neon sigh.

Walking in, he steeled himself, waiting for the rush as the scents of sweat and sex reached him and as the pounding music reached his ears. Someone, some chick and a guy, welcomed him, dragging him to the mass of dancing bodies and handing him the desired drugs. He downed them quickly, waiting for them to kick in as the girl stripped him of his jacket and shirt.

As it was lost amongst the crowd and as the slut bit down on his shoulder and dragged her nails over his shoulders, he made a note to do something about replacing that jacket... or at least making up a lie about where it'd disappeared to. But then the drugs kicked in and soon came the alcohol and he was too high to know any different.


	3. Chapter 2

**Right so ignoring how long it's been... and let's not get started on how terribly homosexual my computer has been... so enjoy =)**

_Chapter Three_

Rei knew he knew Kai as well as Kai knew Tala, but he wasn't too sure as to how well Kai knew Bryan. He himself knew that Bryan was as unpredictable as the weather – more so, even – so he couldn't predict exactly what he should be doing the way he could with Tala and the others, based off how he would treat Kai. And it was confusing.

He payed little attention to the other bladers as they slowly trickled into the kitchen one by one, but remained polite and muttered his own morning greeting in return to theirs. Fingers tapping against the mug his tea was in, he continued to stare outside.

He wouldn't tell Tala or Kai. He'd let Bryan have his secret for now, because obviously it was something he didn't want his team discovering. Rei glanced over at Tyson briefly, silently debating if he should tell the Japanese boy. _What does it matter_, he thought as Tyson met his gaze with a touch of curiosity, _he'll figure it out himself in a few days time._

Once everyone was gathered in the kitchen, Rei brought attention to himself. "Where's Bryan?" he asked, adding the right pitch and furrowing his brow just enough to appear curious and a touch concerned. "Jet lag?"

"He goes out running in the mornings," Ian replied around a mouthful of cereal. "He gets up insanely early. He'll be back in a few minutes, I'm guessing."

_Running_, Rei scoffed mentally, _convenient._

"He does?" Kai asked. "I thought he went to the gym in the mornings."

"He stopped that months ago," Ian replied, waving his spoon about in the air.

Tala's hand curled around his cup of coffee and his eyes narrowed angrily. "Not that you're ever around to know that, Hiwatari." He lifted his gaze to meet Kai's cold orbs. Nothing was said between them as the cold comment was left hanging in the air and finally, they both looked away.

Rei exchanged glances with his team, silently telling them that this could be the beginning of what they'd prepared themselves for. The Russians were angry and upset, that was a given, and they'd take it out on whoever or whatever they could, in whatever manner they saw fit. The next six months were going to be interesting for everyone – the couple of weeks they were spending with the Bladebreakers weren't going to be enough as a mini rehab session.

"Speak of the devil," Tyson murmured loud enough for Rei to hear as he passed behind the Chinese teen and sat beside him.

Indeed, Bryan had just entered the kitchen. His hair was a mess and his skin glistened with sweat. Rei ran his eyes over the teen's apparel, quickly assessing that Bryan must have snuck in and changed into training gear because he definitely wasn't wearing what he'd been in last night.

Golden orbs clashed with Bryan's lilac gaze. Immediately, Bryan's hackles rose and he narrowed his eyes at the Chinese blader, trying to interpret the look. Eventually he regarded it simply as protectiveness for his team and for Kai. Bryan broke contact and continued to the fridge.

So the kitten was still afraid of him from the first World's, hey? Bryan smirked and bit down into his apple. His teeth protested against the chill of the fruit's juice. He was going to have some serious fun with this.

"I'm off to shower," he declared, sweeping out of the room.

Rei waited a minute or two before excusing himself. Once in the hallway, he ran down it silently and slipped into the room the Blitzkrieg Boys were sharing. Closing the door softly behind him, Rei leaned against it and watched Bryan move about the room.

Each movement had a purpose and leaked confidence – that Rei was used to from Kai, but then there was something different about the way Bryan moved. It was as though he was keeping eyes off him by drawing as much attention to himself as he could. He seemed threatening, like a simple bat of his eyelashes was enough to kill someone. Rei had never seen anyone carry themselves in such a way and he knew immediately that he'd be treading on thin ice with Bryan from here on out.

"Convenient little lie you have them hooked on," Rei said, finally announcing his presence.

Bryan didn't even falter. "Isn't it Tyson who has a habit of speaking rubbish, kitten?"

Rei bristled at the nickname. "I'm not stupid, Bryan. I saw you leaving last night. I don't know where you vanished to, but I'd be grateful if you'd let me know."

"You saw me leave?" Bryan asked after a moment of cautious silence. He'd finally stopped moving and was facing Rei. "And have you told anyone?"

"I'll help you keep your secret for now," Rei murmured.

Bryan smirked. "The poor kitten is scared of what I might do if he tells someone. How sweet." He slowly approached Rei, his smirk widening to show a flash of white teeth. "Don't worry – I only bite a little."

Rei jerked his head away from the red lips whispering threats into his ear and glared at Bryan. "I'm not scared of you, you bastard."

"Then what was that bravado I saw in your eyes in the kitchen?"

"If you hurt my team or Kai, I will hurt you – I was threatening you, Bryan. I know you're thick, but surely you could have figured that out." Rei smirked as Bryan snarled. "Seems not. You're just full of lies, aren't you?" Rei ran his tongue over the tips of his teeth, hoping the honesty card pulled at as many strings with Bryan as it did with Kai.

And Rei was right, but the reaction was even better than what he could have hoped for. Eyes widening in surprise as Bryan launched himself angrily at Rei, Rei deftly turned the doorknob and vanished into the corridor before Bryan could get his fingers around his neck.

Panting, heart racing, Rei stood there staring at the door.

"Rei?" Kai called. Rei's head whipped to the side. Kai was standing in the doorway of the living room. "Everything ok?"

Rei's eyes trailed back to the room Bryan was in and slowly, he smiled. "Yeah, Kai, everything's fine."

* * *

Tala sat with his laptop open on the kitchen bench, the letter to their attorney only three lines long so far. His chin was resting comfortably in his hand as he stared out the open window with distant icy eyes.

It was four pm and a cool wind was blowing in. It was refreshing and calmed his raging headache, but it wasn't enough to relieve the tension. Swallowing thickly, he blinked twice then finally turned back to the computer.

He opened the attorney's email again, reread it for what was possibly the hundredth time, and then quickly closed it when he felt bile rise in the back of his throat. Slamming the computer shut, he rested his head on his arms and let out a shaky breath.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't keep going. He was so weary it was ridiculous and no matter how long he slept, he couldn't get the exhaustion out of his bones. There was this constant pounding just behind his eyes that was slowly driving him mad and no matter how many tablets he took to relieve the pain, it just wouldn't stop.

_Perhaps I should see if Bryan wants to go out somewhere_, he thought, his eyes studying the up-close vision he had of the dining table's wooden grain. Spencer and Ian had already gone out with Max – there was a noodle shop the American boy had wanted them to try – and Tyson was training in the dojo. Kai and Rei had gone grocery shopping and Diachi had soccer training. The house was dead quiet.

"Tala," said a voice with a touch of surprise.

Tala stiffened, raking through his memories as he tried to place the voice. Memories of his battle with Garland assaulted his mind and he jerked upright. Hiro. The older Granger brother was standing in the kitchen doorway with a pile of mail in one hand and his cell phone in the other.

"Hiro," Tala returned, nodding his head in the older man's direction. He berated himself for the slight venom in his tone. The court case had revealed everything behind Hiro joining Bega – he'd been working with Mr Dickinson on getting evidence against Voltaire and Boris. Tala lowered his head again and clenched his jaw. Shit load of nothing that did.

Hiro swallowed thickly. Tyson had told him only two days ago, the day before the Russians had arrived, about the outcome of the court case. He'd only just returned home from China, where he'd been assisting with a BBA promotion in Shanghai, and he had not expected the only person home to be Tala Ivanov.

"I am... so, so sorry about the court case," he said quietly and with as much emotion as he could muster. He placed the mail on the table and slipped his phone into his pocket. "Tala, if there is anything I can do..."

Bryan answered on Tala's behalf, causing Hiro to whirl around. "Because you were obviously so much help the first time around."

"Bryan," Tala sighed wearily. "Drop it. He did what he could. We would have had less of a chance had it not been for him." Exhausted blue eyes opened to look at Hiro and Tala gave a small, tired smile. "Thank you, Hiro, for everything. But no, there's nothing you can do to help – there's nothing..." Tala trailed off and drew in a shaky breath. "Excuse me," he muttered, making sure to keep his gaze on the kitchen tiles as he pushed his chair back and left the room. Seconds later, the sound of the front door slamming shut broke the silence that had fallen over Bryan and Hiro.

Now left with the dangerous Bryan Kuznetsov, Hiro made sure to change his demeanour. He'd seen each and every file on each and every Abbey boy – each was hard to forget and he'd had nightmares for weeks. Heck, he still did. But it gave him an advantage when dealing with the Russian National Beyblading Team.

Bryan straightened his stance accordingly and held his chin a little higher, the sunlight highlighting the line of his jaw, but Hiro recognised the respect in his gaze – it was more force of habit than actual respect but it would do for now.

"You don't agree with Tala. You think there was more I could have done," Hiro stated calmly, making sure to not sound questioning or accusing.

Bryan licked his lips. "Tala's my captain. I'll do what he says, follow him wherever he goes. It doesn't matter what I think."

"What do you think?" The spark of confusion in Bryan's eyes was enough to let Hiro know he'd caught Bryan off guard. He relaxed his stance and repeated the question.

"In all honesty..." Bryan began, turning his gaze to look out the window in the same manner Tala had been doing earlier. "I'm not sure of what I think anymore."

* * *

Rei didn't say anything when Kai pulled over two houses down from Tyson's. He did, however, raise an amused eyebrow and twist in his seat to look at his best friend with a questioning look. Kai turned the radio off, put the handbrake on, switched it into park and finally turned off the ignition.

"What are you trying to put off?" Rei asked, waving his hand over the handbrake and gearstick so Kai would understand what he meant.

"You know I don't like questioning my teammates," Kai replied. His hands dropped from the steering wheel and he sighed. "But right now, I need to, Rei. And you know it's not because I don't trust you."

"Kai, dude, seriously. Just relax. I'm not going to bite your head off."

Kai let out a huff that was the beginnings of a chuckle and nodded his head. "Fair enough then. I need to ask you..."

Seeing that Kai was struggling, Rei looked back out the front window and kicked his feet up so that they sat on the dashboard. "You wanna know what I talked to Bryan about? Or at least why I went into his room?" Rei didn't wait for an answer, only pausing to yawn boredly. It was quickly reciprocated by Kai and Rei got in a, "dude you slept for a millennia, how are you tired?" before continuing. "I was just checking on him; jet lag is a bitch, after all." Kai gave him a pointed look and he sighed. "Kai, really, it was nothing. I was just checking on him. I asked if he wanted me to make him anything for breakfast, he said no, that he was going to have a shower, and that was that. Now will you drive us home?" he laughed.

Kai shook his head with a grin and started the ignition again. "Thanks, Rei."

"Hmm?" Rei hummed questioningly. "What for?"

"Everything. I know its cliché, but seriously, thanks."

* * *

Though it sounded weird, Rei loved sitting in the kitchen in the middle of the night, when it was pitch black and deadly silent. There was something mysterious and enthralling about it. He felt ridiculously alive, despite the apparent lack of life throughout the room.

His eyes snapped up and to the right when he heard the front door open and close. _Damn, Bryan can walk quietly_, Rei thought, rising silently to follow the Falcon. He grabbed Kai's coat from the rack and slipped on Tyson's sneakers then disappeared out into the night.

They walked for twenty minutes. Rei was caught between deciding Bryan knew he was following and Bryan _not _knowing he was following. The area they were in, however, was pretty stingy, so it wasn't a surprise that Bryan was massively on guard.

Still, it concerned Rei that Bryan was travelling to such an area each night – or at least Rei presumed each night. Perhaps he was lucky that Bryan was doing it two nights in a row. Either way, it didn't matter. Bryan shouldn't be out in such an area in the middle of the night.

Rei stopped when he saw Bryan enter a building. His lip curled in disgust. What the hell was Bryan doing going to a place like _that_? Licking his lips, Rei pulled his jacket in closer and headed over to the entrance. He wouldn't go in – he wasn't stupid – but he guessed he could wait for Bryan to come out, so he sat on the curb and rested his head on his knees.

* * *

The first signs of a new day were just arising when Rei heard the entrance to the club open – again. Sighing, he turned, quickly standing when he realised that, finally, it was Bryan.

"Rei," Bryan murmured, his lilac eyes wide and his lips forming a perfect O. "What the hell?"

Covering his nose with his hand, Rei pulled his head back and took a step away from Bryan. "You reek," he accused. He looked up at the sky then back at Bryan. "Come on," he said disdainfully, holding a hand out to the drunk, high Russian. "The others won't wake up for a while yet."

"I'm not going to bed," Bryan declared as Rei grabbed him by the arm and dragged him along. "I'm not."

"Bryan, I don't give a damn what you do, in all honesty," Rei finally snapped. He was pissed. Pissed that Bryan was doing this when it was already so hard for all of them; pissed that Bryan had even thought of doing this to himself. "But you are taking an effing shower. I've smelt dumpsters nicer than you." He made a disgusted noise as Bryan stopped to throw up in the gutter. "For Christ's sake, Bryan, really?"

"You're not freaked out that I'm drunk and high as a kite and have just had meaningless sex with at least three girls," Bryan said once they were moving again.

Rei pulled a face. "Thank you for that... _crucial_ piece of information, _not_." He shook his head. "Just because I'm from a small rural village in China doesn't mean I haven't seen someone destroy themselves with sex, drugs and alcohol, Bryan."

Bryan seemed to sober up. "I'm not destroying myself," he said quietly. "This isn't... I mean, I'm not so pathetic as to... I just can't. All right, I can't. I can't... I can't – "

"Bryan," Rei said quietly, squeezing the Russian teenager's arm. "It's fine. I get it, ok? You're all just trying to adjust at the moment and if this is how you cope... well, it's nothing to be proud of, hell I hope you're so damned ashamed it haunts you in your sleep, but I get it, I do. Kai started drinking for a bit when the investigation first began," Rei admitted.

"What?" Bryan asked, completely alarmed. "Why – why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you... we could've helped him!"

"Because he had me! He had his best friend and his team behind him, and I didn't tell you for the same reason I'm not going to tell your team and Kai about what you've been getting up to – it's the last thing they need right now, and I respect you enough to let you make your own choices and keep your secrets."

"You're not going to tell them?" Bryan asked, relieved.

Rei shook his head. "No, I won't. If it gets out of hand I'll step in, and so will Tyson." Seeing Bryan's look, Rei chuckled. "He's a lot more perceptive than anyone gives him credit for. He'll probably figure it out soon. But neither of us will say anything, Bryan. But here's the deal – make sure you're home by three, four at the latest, and shower for crying out loud. Seriously, scrub so hard you bleed because you have _no_ idea how bad you smell. And let me help you, I'll help you hide it, ok? But if Tala and Kai start pressing you for answers, or start figuring things out, I'm not going to deter them." Rei stopped and tugged Bryan to a halt. "I'm not going to sit back and let you destroy yourself. This deal will only stand for so long – if it doesn't look like you're going to stop by yourself, I'll step in. And withdrawal will be a painful, PMSing bitch but I don't care. I will stop you."

Bryan opened and closed his mouth, not sure of what to say. Sighing, Rei tugged on his arm to get him going again and they slowly continued their path home.


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's another chapter for you :) and thank you to my ever so wonderful reviewers :)**

* * *

_Chapter Three_

Tala glanced up from the computer screen, from the email he was still struggling to write, when Bryan walked into the kitchen to grab breakfast. "Hey, you didn't go running this morning."

Bryan's eyes shifted over to Rei, who was on the phone to Lee. Rei stiffened slightly and the phone dropped away from his ear a bit as he stared back at Bryan, silently warning him to be smart about what he was going to do. If he was going to tell Tala, he couldn't just come out and say it like it was some everyday subject – the poor redhead would have a heart attack.

"No, I didn't," Bryan finally said. "Thank you, Captain Obvious," he added sarcastically.

Rei couldn't decide whether or not he was satisfied by Bryan's answer. He wanted Bryan to get help, and the only way for that to happen was if Bryan told his team, but then Rei wanted to protect Kai however he could, and if that meant him not finding out about Bryan's secret life just yet... then so be it.

"Hey, Lee, sorry. What were you saying?" Rei said, holding the phone to his ear again and turning his back to Tala and Bryan.

Tala stiffened as he felt Bryan's vice-like grip on the back of his neck. Eyes sliding down and to the left, Tala growled out a warning before asking lowly, "what are trying to pull, Kuznetsov?"

Bryan's grip tightened. His temper was flaring but his mind was still that little bit too hazy for him to care. "I thought you deleted the email?"

"I did."

"Then care to explain what it is you're working on, Tala?" He dug his nails in mercilessly, smirking maliciously when Tala winced and shifted in his seat. "Well, dear Captain?"

"So I can work a computer," Tala ground out, trying to pull away from the blunt nails digging into his neck. "What of it?"

"What of it? Damn it, Tala, I'll – "

"Bryan!" Bryan's head jerked up to see Tyson standing in the doorway. Rei's words from earlier that morning came flooding back and suddenly Bryan saw Tyson Granger as a threat. He narrowed his eyes and Tyson glared back. "Bryan, enough. Let him go. He's on Kai's account. I logged him in."

At first Bryan didn't budge. Tala was weary – he could feel the tension in his teammate's arm and was worried Bryan would try something. But, no, he actually listened to Tyson and pulled his hand away.

"All right then," said Bryan mockingly. "Calm down. I wasn't aware you now needed to be rescued by the Brat Pack, Tala. Impressive Captain we have, hey Tyson?"

"Damn you, Bryan," Tala snarled, rising to his feet and storming out of the room.

Bryan smirked and took his Captain's seat. His fingers had only just reached the mouse before he was forced to hurriedly draw them back as Tyson slammed the lid shut.

"I said I logged _Tala_ in, Bryan," Tyson said lowly, regarding Bryan with his warm brown eyes. "I'm sure he has his reasons for not letting you read the email. Kai won't let us near it either, except we're smart enough to respect our Captain's wishes."

Bryan snorted and rocked back on the chair's hind legs. "The Brat Pack's getting brave nowadays. That's twice in two successive days that my intelligence and integrity have been insulted. I'm almost kind of proud of you."

Tyson grabbed the back of the chair and forced it back onto all four legs. Grabbing Bryan by the shoulder, he dragged the older teen to his feet. "Remember you're a guest in my house, Bryan. It'd do you well to be polite."

"The Brat Pack is even _threatening_ me these days? _Me_? Bryan Kuznetsov?" he laughed and headed for the hallway. "You really are growing up, aren't you?"

Once Bryan was gone, Tyson sighed and collapsed into the chair. He stared blankly at the closed computer then over at Rei, who smiled supportively at him. Hiro entered the kitchen moments later and sent his younger brother a questioning look.

"Any reason why Bryan looks a little bit too cynically amused for my liking?"

Tyson was quiet for a moment. He bit his lip and gnawed at it. "Force is the only way to get through to them, right? Bryan especially. That's what you said, right?" Hiro nodded, waiting to see where the conversation was going. "Then why is it so damned hard, if I know it's helping them? I feel like the biggest jerk but I was helping Tala. Oh, and he's going to be so happy with me too." Tyson sighed then swore.

"I know it's hard, Ty, but they've been raised to really only respond to force. They think anything short of a display of power and strength is ridiculous so if we try playing psychiatrist on them, they'll only scoff at us. If it's the right moment, go for the heart to heart, but for now, especially with Bryan, force is the only thing that'll work." Hiro shrugged. "Besides, they get to argue back. They get to let off steam so..." He shrugged again. "It can't be all bad."

* * *

Four tense, headache and heartache filled days passed and by the end of the week, everyone was struggling to hold it together. It was 3:55 in the morning and Rei was sitting at the kitchen table with his head buried in his arms. Woeful gold eyes stared in the direction of the doorway, waiting to see Bryan appear so that...

So that what, Rei thought bitterly, closing his eyes. It's not like I'm going back to bed, not after the nightmares. And for once, they weren't Kai's or the Russians' nightmares, they were Rei's own, of the court case, the evidence, the plea, the final statement and charge – or lack thereof. Rei hadn't even been there but his mind liked to imagine he had been.

His eyes snapped open at the sound of Tala swearing loudly and Rei curled in on himself a little bit more. Russian assaulted his ears and he heard a door open and close, and then again, before finally Tala quietened. Sadly, such noises had become rather familiar.

Rei's eyes widened. Bryan. Shit. If he came home now... and where did Kai think he was – presuming it was Kai who had gone to Tala – because he would have seen that Rei's bed was empty. Standing hurriedly, Rei bolted to the bathroom, turned the light on then closed the door and rushed back to the front door.

Sneaking outside, he hopped from one to another as the cold pavement hit his previously warm feet. "Damn it, Bryan, where are you?" he hissed.

"Why, kitten, have you been missing me?"

Rei turned around at the sound of the voice and glared at Bryan's shadowy figure. "You're late. Don't you own a watch? Or a phone? Surely at least one of your _sluts_ must," he said venomously. He shook his head angrily. "Never mind. You'll have to sneak in. Try the bathroom if you can. Tala had a nightmare and so there will be at least two very awake people in your room, who are noticing that you're missing and who will be very aware to the fact you reek of alcohol and sweat if you walk in like that."

"Tala had a nightmare?" Bryan asked quietly, looking over his shoulder at the front door.

"Yes, he's been having quite a few recently. As has the rest of your team, and Kai, and Hiro, and tonight even me. Not that you've been around," Rei hissed harshly. At one point, despite his bloody history with Bryan, he'd had a lot of respect for the Russian blader. Now it was all he could do to not rip his head from his shoulders. "Just get inside, you whore."

Bryan's hands were around his throat so fast he never got to scream. Gagging, Rei clawed at Bryan's pale hands, his eyes wide with terror. Instinct finally kicked in and he lifted his knee, digging it as hard as he could into Bryan's groin.

Bryan released him, groaning, and fell to his knees. Rei stumbled backwards, gasping and clutching as his bruised throat. Each desperate breath hurt and his tears burned his cold cheeks. "What's wrong?" Rei snapped, his throat raw and his voice hinting at a sob. "Don't like hearing the truth, do you? Do you even realise what you're doing to your team, to my team, to your goddamn self? _Do you?"_ Chest heaving, Rei licked his lips and brushed the tears from his cheeks. "You used to be one of the people I respected most, Bryan," he admitted quietly. "Now you're a level above Boris and Voltaire and the rest of the earth's scum. You're a bastard, and a whore, and a junkie, and an alcoholic and a liar. Should I mention abuser? Turn yourself into an evil scientist and add kidnapping to your list and you really will be like Voltaire and Boris."

The sound of retching met his ears and Rei finally focused on Bryan, really focused, and noticed the older teen was on his hands, tears staining his cheeks as he trembled like a leaf in the wind. Rei fell to his knees beside him.

"Look at what we've done to ourselves," he whispered, placing a soothing hand on Bryan's back and moving it in circles as Bryan began to retch again. Closing his eyes tightly, Rei's shoulders began to shake with pent up emotion. "God, I'm so sorry Bryan. For what I said, for the court case, for what you're going through, what you've been through... damn, I'm sorry."

"Shut... up..." Bryan panted, rocking back onto the balls of his feet. "You were – you were right. Don't be sorry... for saying the truth." The Russian swallowed thickly, wiped a hand across his lips, then pulled himself and Rei to their feet. "Right, let's figure out how I am supposed to get through the bathroom window."

* * *

Kai's eyes flickered open at the sound of the bedroom door opening and closing. He wasn't surprised to see it was Rei with a glass of milk in his hand. Sitting up, Kai rubbed his eyes and flicked the bedside lamp on. Squinting as his eyes adjusted, Kai watched his teammate blink angrily at the sudden light before those golden eyes focused in on Kai.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Rei murmured as he crossed the room to his bed. He was ridiculously grateful for the fact that he didn't bruise easily, and for the fact that Bryan probably hadn't had his hands on Rei's neck long enough to bruise – still, Rei would be studying his neck closely for the next couple of days. The whole household would freak if they found out what happened.

Kai shook his head. "Not you. I was still getting back to sleep after..." he trailed off and Rei grunted as he sipped from his glass, letting Kai know he knew what the older boy was talking about. "I wondered where you were when I got back. But then I guess I should have known, hey, kitten?" Kai added teasingly, nodding his head in the direction of the glass of milk. Something strange flickered across Rei's face and Kai frowned. It'd only been there for a second, if that, but it had still been there. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Rei said calmly, keeping his eyes level with Kai's.

"That's what you said last time."

"And I meant it last time."

"And this time?"

"Still mean it." Kai narrowed his eyes suspiciously and Rei sighed. "Seriously Kai, I think you're just getting uptight with having the others here. It's four in the morning. I'm tired, that's all."

"I'm your captain."

"Thank you for that... enlightening observation, _Captain_."

Kai rolled his eyes and raised his hand to the light switch. "Shut up, Rei. That wasn't what I meant. What I was trying to say is, if you ever need to talk – "

"Kai, sympathy isn't really your thing." Rei laughed at the glare he received. "I get what you were trying to say. Just turn the dam light off, will you? If I need to talk, I'll do it at a suitable hour, hey?"

The lights went out and both boys settled down in their beds. "When you said you need to talk, were you implying that you _do _need to talk? Because if you do – "

"_Good night, Kai._"

* * *

Tyson awoke steadily and once he was awake, he lay in his bed for half an hour with his eyes focused on the ceiling, his arms crossed behind his head, and his thoughts miles away. Eventually he dragged himself to his feet and tottered to the kitchen.

"Morning," he greeted groggily, heading straight for the fridge. He glanced briefly at the clock on the oven. "I'm guessing Kai went to mass. He should be home soon, right?"

"Yeah, soon," Max agreed, rocking back on his chair to better see Tyson. "All of the Blitzkrieg Boys went."

"Eh?" Tyson asked, relatively surprised. "All of them? Huh... I never knew."

"Never knew what?" Spencer asked as he entered the kitchen. He smirked when both Max and Tyson jumped. "Never knew what?" he repeated.

"That you were all religious," Tyson answered cautiously as the rest of the Russians filed into the kitchen. Kai was watching him with the same wariness. "How was mass?"

"Good," Kai answered slowly, quietly, still gauging how the scenario could play out. "When did you get up?"

"I've been awake for a while," Tyson replied, skipping when he actually got out of bed because he knew it'd only draw jibes from Kai. "So, what? You're all Catholic or...?"

"All Catholic," Bryan answered from behind Tyson. Tyson bit his lower lip savagely and breathed in swiftly through his nose. Damn Bryan had been sneaking up on him a lot lately. "We clung to what we could find and what could pull us through. It's not like we had much outside of ourselves, each other and religion. The only family we did have had either given us up or – "

"Was responsible for the beatings of 58 boys aged between 5 and 17, Spencer being the eldest and Bryan having been there the longest," Hiro finished as he sat beside Max at the kitchen table. "Registered as an orphanage, they weren't able to detain any child who was legally of age. Spencer would have been free to leave in three months time."

"We're aware of the facts," Tala snarled, breathing heavily as he gripped onto Ian's shoulder tightly. Bryan was trembling behind Tyson, due to what emotion even he wasn't sure of, and Spencer stood with his arms crossed. Kai's eyes stared blankly at the tiles.

"Voltaire Hiwatari, grandfather and legal guardian of Kai Hiwatari, was the original founder of BioVolt. His grandson was one of the academy students," Hiro continued. "Records kept by the academy indicated –"

"Hiro, stop," Tyson ordered, his eyes watching Bryan's hands carefully as the older boy began to reach for the knife block.

Tala had shoved Ian behind him now, protecting the younger boy. "Did you not hear me? We're aware of the facts."

"- that Kai Hiwatari had been the only boy allowed out of the academy, due to a number of reasons. One of these reasons was a case of amnesia, caused by an accident when he was nine years of age. Illegal tests – "

"No. I didn't mean to leave. It wasn't my choice," Kai argued weakly, shaking his head.

"Hiro!" Tyson snapped, seizing Bryan's wrist and forcing the stricken teen to release the knife he'd been clutching tightly, desperately.

"– were performed on Tala Ivanov at the age of 14. Records show Ian Papov had been the original selection for such tests. Spencer Petrov had been selected in a training unit designed to train the older males to become employees of the academy. Bryan Kuznetsov had been lawfully handed over to Boris Balkov's custody and documents showed that Bryan was to move to Iceland with Boris. More records showed – "

"Stop!" Max finally shouted, standing so fast his chair crashed to the floor. "Damn it, Hiro, enough already! They've already told you they're aware of the facts – you think shoving those facts in their faces will help them? Just what the hell are you trying to prove?"

Hiro felt his eyes sting as he looked at the faces of five, terrified Russian teenagers. Breathing in deeply, he steadied his voice before answering, "I'm trying to prove that they're wrong. No one's giving up on them; no one is going to forget them or the other boys of BioVolt. They don't have to keep up a brave face; they're allowed to show that they're scared. No one will turn them away. Ever. Again."

"We won't win," Ian choked out, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes. He shook his head. "We will never win against them."

"Ian, I promise you, we will win."

Kai felt the breaths catching in his throat, could feel the tears wetting his lashes. He clutched at the shirt over his heart and failed to catch a breathy sob. Biting his lip, he looked up and caught sight of Rei in the corridor. Realisation dawned on him and he swiftly went after the neko-jin.

"Rei," he called angrily when he saw the teen disappear outside. He caught the back door before it could close. "That was you, wasn't it? You told Hiro to do that. You tried breaking us down!"

"Kai – "

"You did that! What were you trying to prove?"

Rei lowered his gaze and clenched his jaw. "_Tyson_ picked it up. Not me, _Tyson_. He came to me, and I went to Hiro. You were giving up! You, Kai Hiwatari, were giving up! And so were the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys! My God, Kai, do you know how much that scared us? You guys _never_ give up!"

"So you think shoving it all in our face would do the trick? It made it seem all the more impossible! 58 boys were at BioVolt, ranging from the ages of 5 to 17."

"Stop it, Kai. Stop. You know I don't like hearing the facts. I will help you however I can but we made a deal: no facts, no statistics!"

"The oldest was Spencer, and Bryan had been there the longest. I was the only boy allowed to leave due to an accident when I was nine, thus giving me amnesia. Ian and Tala – "

"Kai stop it! Enough! You know I hate it!"

"And you think we don't?" Kai yelled back, his voice cracking and giving way to the grief he was feeling. "You think we liked hearing all that _again_? Haven't we heard it enough? _What made you think it was going to work?_"

"But it did work! And you know it! Hiro recited those facts from memory – he _can't_ forget it and he _won't _forget it. No one will _ever_ forget it! The case has been all over the media and was even broadcasted live on television every now and then – in eleven different countries! Kai," Rei said, his voice softer. "No one is going to forget what you boys were put through."

Shoulders shaking, head bowed, Kai couldn't hold the tears back any longer and he dropped to his knees at the feet of his best friend.

"Kai..." Rei tipped his head back and bit his lip. His nose burned and the back of his eyes were stinging. Shit, he was about to start crying soon. "I promise you, no one will _ever_ forget," he whispered, his voice cracking on the last word. "_Ever_, you hear me? _Ever!_"


	5. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

Bryan nodded in Tala's direction when his Captain entered the kitchen the next morning. Tala returned it with a small, weary smile, his lashes fluttering. Bryan frowned. "You ok?"

"Tired," Tala murmured, leaning against the fridge and shivering when the cold metal hit his heated skin.

"Then go back to bed."

"Can't sleep. Nightmares."

Bryan winced. Rei obviously hadn't been kidding. Tilting his head to the side, he watched his Captain for a bit. The younger teen was so exhausted he was about to fall asleep standing up. "Did you get _any_ sleep last night?"

"Bryan, drop it," Tala ordered weakly, sliding down the fridge to sit on the tiles. He let his head fall back against the kitchen appliance and buried his fingers in his hair. "No, I didn't."

Bryan growled angrily and stood. Storming over to his Captain, he folded his arms over his chest and glared coldly at Tala. "Why didn't you wake one of us?"

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Why didn't you take something? You know Kai has sleeping pills."

"Damn it, Bryan! Drop it!" Tala snapped, opening his eyes to glare back at Bryan. "Why would you care? What am I to you?"

Slamming his hands against the fridge, Bryan looked down at Tala, forcing the younger blader to tilt his head back even further. He swore. "Stop being stupid! Stop trying to take it on all by yourself – let us see the email. Let us – "

"The email? This is still about the effing _email_?" Tala asked incredulously. He dropped his head and scoffed. "When will you get _over_ that, Bryan?"

"It's more than the email!"

"Why? Why do you care? What am I to you!" Tala yelled. He stood angrily, forcing Bryan to retreat. His body was shaking with exhaustion and pent up emotions. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he was asking a lot of Bryan. It wasn't in the older teen's nature to express mateship and such but he didn't care. He wanted an answer. If he had to make Bryan bleed, he didn't care – he would get his answer.

Bryan flinched and took another retreating step. He couldn't, he just couldn't. Opening and closing his mouth, he stared at Tala with desperate eyes. If only Tala wasn't so tired, they wouldn't be in this situation. Finally, Bryan choked out an answer. "You're my Captain, Tala."

Tala's shoulders sagged and his head fell forward. Scoffing, he nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He wiped his hands down the front of his pants, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. "You know, we never used to fight like this."

"Tala..."

"No, listen. We never used to fight like this. Yeah, it got tense during the investigation, and during the court case, but we never fought like this – not this often, not this horribly. We're pulling at each other's weaknesses every chance we get," Tala admitted shamefully. "Bryan, I need to know – where did you disappear to? Where did you run to during the case?"

Bryan sighed with relief when Tyson entered the room, saving him from having to answer. Tala shot him a look, promising they weren't done with their conversation, and then greeted the Japanese blader.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Tyson demanded, his voice ringing high with alarm. "You sneak off to a bar last night and piss someone off?" he continued, referring to the bruises he could see marring the Russians' pale skin.

Rei entered just as Tyson demanded answers, and he whistled low and long as he too stared at the pair's injuries. "Tyson's right, what the hell happened?" he asked, his eyes meeting Bryan's threateningly. If Bryan had gotten Tala involved... what Boris did to him would be nothing when Rei was through with him. Mentally wincing at his own thoughts, Rei backpedalled as much as he could, chanting no in his head repetitively. He felt sick.

"We were sparring last night," Tala answered, not missing the way Bryan bristled under Rei's gaze. "Bryan, me and Kai. Abbey style. We're a little more than bruised, but we're fine."

"Where is Kai?" Rei asked, finally dragging his eyes from Bryan and focusing on Tala. It didn't escape him that Tala was leaning heavily against the fridge, and that his bruises looked exceptionally dark against his paler than usual skin.

And it didn't escape Tala as to how much Bryan's demeanour had changed in Rei's presence, as Bryan replied, "does it look like we know? He's probably run off somewhere, or is training." The tone was harsh. Tala frowned. Bryan was... guarding himself. Against Rei?

Rei exchanged glances with Tyson then they left the kitchen silently, leaving two puzzled Russians in their wake. Treading lightly down the corridor, they stopped in front of the room the Blitzkrieg Boys had been using and the one Kai had slept in for the past couple of nights.

Opening it quietly, Tyson then stepped back to let Rei go in first. He wasn't stupid – Rei was closer to Kai in the same way that Tyson was closer to Max, so if anything was wrong, it was Rei who Kai would probably go to.

"He's not here," Rei murmured quietly, not wanting to disturb the still-sleeping Spencer and Ian. He stepped back to let Tyson see for himself, before the Japanese boy rejoined him in the hallway and closed the door. "Maybe he's showering or something, or training in the backyard."

But Kai wasn't, and when Tyson and Rei joined Bryan and Tala in the kitchen once more, the Russian bladers couldn't make sense of what was bugging the two so badly.

"Doesn't he do this all the time? You guys used to rant and rave about it constantly," Bryan said dryly, leaning his elbows back on the kitchen bench. "What's the panic?"

Tyson shook his head. "He hasn't done it in months. At least not without telling Rei where he's going." He looked to the Chinese teen for confirmation and continued when Rei nodded swiftly. "Yeah, so it's weird that he hasn't told Rei."

Tala shrugged and collapsed into a free chair. He rested his elbows on the table and put his face in his hands. "He'll be back. That's at least one thing that never changed, right?"

* * *

"I'm back!" Diachi called, using his toes to pry off his muddy soccer boots. Closing the door behind him, he swung his bag to the floor, pulled his shirt off over his head and threw it to the ground, then entered the living room. "Hey," he greeted, tugging off his socks and throwing them at Tyson.

Tyson swore and jumped up, wiping his hands down his body dramatically. "Damn, Diachi, that's feral!" Diachi laughed and leaned back in the armchair, sagging so that he was almost slipping out of it. Tilting his head, Tyson raised an eyebrow when Diachi fell deep into thought. "What's up?"

Max glanced up from his laptop and unfurled his legs as he crawled around the coffee table to sit in front of Diachi. Rei kicked his legs up onto the couch, not allowing Tyson to sit back down, and focused on their youngest.

"Everything ok?" Rei asked when Diachi's brow creased.

"Yeah, it's just that..."

Running possibilities through his head, the only one Max could settle on was the one he approached the younger teen with. "Kai didn't come and see the game, did he?" he asked dully, though it sounded more like a statement.

Rei's fingers snapped into fists and he breathed in deeply. Kai disappearing was unnerving enough, and now this. It hadn't taken long for Diachi to see Kai as an older brother figure – Max did as well, but for Diachi, the lack of a father made his bond with Kai even deeper. The small things like Kai never missing a soccer match were what meant the world to Diachi, and that familiar routine being broken would shake the boy's foundations. It made everything that was happening that little bit too real.

"No, he didn't miss is," Diachi replied, shaking his head. "He was there. But... he always sees me afterward. He's usually the one who drives me home," he added, waving his hand in the direction of the front door. "But the moment we came off the field, I looked to find him and he was gone. Obviously he's not here either."

Of course, Rei thought, you've been at a mate's for the day. "He's been missing all day."

Diachi looked confused. "Where?"

"I don't know." Rei hadn't expected that to feel so painful. Diachi's gaze dropped and his fingers tightened on the armrests. "Diachi..."

"I'm going to shower," he said abruptly. He stood stiffly and left.

Rei sighed and ran his hands down his face. "I'm gonna kill him," Rei promised quietly. "Kai, I swear I'm gonna kill you."

* * *

He waited up until eleven to see if Bryan would leave or Kai would return. He knew it was stupid. Bryan could have easily slipped out the back and Kai could be gone for a few days before he returned home. Still, he waited, watching crappy sitcoms on the telly and when even they weren't enough, the shopping channel. Yes, life was sad.

Gnawing at his lip, Rei tilted his head back and rested it on the back of the couch. Seriously, why was he sitting here? He got up slowly and looked one last time at the front door from the doorway leading to the living room, before turning his back to it and heading to his and Kai's room.

A light coming from under the entrance to the dojo caught his attention just as he was about to close the door leading to his room, and he frowned. Treading lightly, he stepped back out into the corridor and let curiosity take the lead.

He pushed the door open quietly and his eyes widened as he watched Bryan and Tala go at each other with deadly intent. It was like watching them beybattle – perfect, vicious, precise, powerful, ruthless, and their only emotional release. Rei wondered if they were even aware of how easy they were to read when they battled, or in this case, sparred.

They were hurting, Tala worse than Bryan, and they looked so lost, Bryan worse than Tala. They poured it out into each punch, each kick, each damaging strike. It left Rei breathless. He sucked a breath back in when Tala, flung to the ground by Bryan, managed to get his hand around an empty beer bottle.

They, as in the beer bottles, were standing, empty in what might have previously been a neat pile. A few had been smashed, and a few had rolled away from the original place. Tala took the one he had, smashed the base off on the floor, and wielded it as a weapon as he launched himself at Bryan.

Blood stained the floorboards and pale skin as it was drawn repetitively. Rei almost made himself known, wanting them to stop, but hesitated. This was... obviously what they needed. If it helped them cope, if it mean Bryan wasn't sneaking out in the middle of the night, if it meant Tala might have a good night's sleep, then he'd let them continue. So instead of interrupting, he continued to silently watch.

Eventually, Tala caused Bryan to topple and the redhead followed his opponent down, pinning him to the ground by heavily pressing his forearm across Bryan's throat and forcing the older teen to stay in place as he placed a knee on either side of the his hips. The hand with the bottle was raised threateningly and the two stayed there, panting, before Tala's hand finally dropped to the floor.

He pulled his forearm from Bryan's throat and rested it on the floorboards beside Bryan's head. The bottle was rolled way and Tala rested his blood smeared hand on the other side of Bryan's head. His chest heaved as he fought for breath.

Bryan stared up into icy blue eyes, panting just as hard as his Captain. "Tala..." he breathed, finding he didn't have the strength to say much more. Tala closed his eyes and bit his lip. His arms were shaking with exertion, and though he tried to hide it, Bryan caught every wince and grimace, and felt every tremor and flinch. "Tala," he repeated, a little more strongly.

Tala let out a small, quiet gasp as his arms gave way and fell to his elbows, near flush against Bryan. He opened his eyes again and pressed his forehead to Bryan's, still struggling to slow his breathing. "Again," he demanded hoarsely.

"Tala, maybe – "

"Again," Tala repeated breathily, finally collapsing against Bryan. The pair groaned and Tala pushed himself up and off the older teen. Standing, he repeated the only word he could bring himself to say as he retreated a few steps and slid into position. "Again."

* * *

Standing on her toes, Hilary poked her tongue out as she felt along the top of the backdoor, trying to find the spare key. "Damn, Tyson," she muttered, "if you've left it inside again or moved it..." she trailed off with a sigh and fell onto flat feet.

Trying the next hiding place (buried in the soil of a pot plant), she grimaced as dirt got under her nails and flicked out onto her shoes. Finally, she found it and she blew on it to try clean it. Slipping it into the lock, she kicked off her shoes and ducked inside.

She wasn't surprised to discover that the house was silent. It was only 6:20 in the morning – an insanely early time – but she'd woken up early and had been planning to come around either way, so she figured she might as well surprise the boys and make breakfast for them.

_After all_, she thought as she walked quietly down the corridor, checking in on everyone, _they could use something to pick up their spirits, no matter how small. _She stopped at the Blitzkrieg Boys room, hesitating. No doubt they slept as lightly as Kai, and she didn't want to wake them, so she left it and continued to head for the kitchen.

She squinted against the early morning light coming in through the feature window behind the dining table. The kitchen look peaceful, bathed in the sunlight. It reflected off the silver of the fridge and hurt her eyes, but she liked the look of it nonetheless.

Scrubbing her hands and trying to get the dirt out from under her nails, she didn't hear Tala's greeting over the sound of the tap. Turning, she clutched at her heart as she realised he was only a meter behind her.

"Tala," she breathed, willing her heart to calm down. She smiled and dried her hands. "You gave me a shock." Dumping the towel on the bench, she took in his appearance. His eyes were dull and shadowed, and his skin was paler than usual. "You look buggered," she murmured, meeting his gaze and choosing not to mention the cuts and bruises.

He leaned back against the bench and crossed his arms over his chest. "Was up late," he lied, deciding that she didn't need to know he'd been unable to sleep the past couple of nights because of nightmares. He'd pushed himself to his limits over and over, hoping he'd be so exhausted he wouldn't dream, but it hadn't worked. The moment he closed his eyes, images flared up and he would bolt upright with his heart hammering.

The fact that he had been drunk as anything last night probably hadn't helped. Now he had a killer headache and was just about ready to throw up.

"You're shaking."

"Hmm?" he asked tiredly, only just realising his eyes had slipped closed.

Hilary swallowed thickly, beginning to get scared. She wasn't a doctor, and she didn't know Tala that well, but she could something was terribly wrong. "You're shaking," she repeated, her voice trembling more than she would have liked.

"What do you mean?" he asked sluggishly, trying to push himself off the counter. His knees threatened to buckle and he reached out a hand to catch himself on Hilary's shoulder. She started, quickly grabbing his hand and his arm to help him get his balance.

"Tala," she said hurriedly. "Something's not right. What's wrong?"

His head was pounding and he couldn't keep his eyes open. He wanted to sleep so damn badly, but he couldn't deal with the nightmares. Not now. He couldn't take it anymore. He manoeuvred himself around her and clutched at the edge of the sink.

She winced and closed her eyes, tempted to even cover her ears as he emptied his stomach into the basin. She slowly opened her eyes again. He was panting as he turned the faucet on full blast. "Tala, go lie down. You're not well."

He shook his head violently and tried to resume control over his shaking hands. His stomach rebelled again and he was glad he'd left the faucet running as he found himself throwing up the few contents left. His throat burned and he fell to his knees, leaning his burning forehead against the cupboard under the sink.

Hilary grabbed the handtowel and soaked it, pressing it gently to the back of his neck and along his face in hopes of cooling him down. "Come on, Tala, let's at least get you to the couch." He tried pulling away from her, his lips mouthing words that she couldn't hear. "Tala, it's fine. Trust me, I'll help. You'll be fine, you're just ill."

"She's right, Tala."

Hilary turned to find Hiro standing in the kitchen, his arms folded over his chest. She let out a relieved exhale. She couldn't handle Tala on her own – he wouldn't let her. But Hiro surely was forceful enough to get Tala to listen.

For a moment they both thought Tala was going to do as he was told as he forced himself to his feet. "Its fine," he ground out, wincing against the sunlight. "I'm fine."

"Tala, don't be an idiot," Hiro sighed, coming up behind the Russian teen. He was swaying and Hiro grabbed him before he could collapse. Slowly, Hiro lowered them to the ground. Tala fought against him weakly and Hiro noticed the flushed cheeks. He either had a fever, or was still slightly drunk – if the smell of alcohol was anything to go by.

Licking her lips, Hilary looked away and tried to busy herself as Tala began to break down. It wouldn't be right for her to witness such a thing, that much she knew.

"You're ok," Hiro murmured, his lips by Tala's ear as he pulled the trembling, tired and broken teen back against his chest. He used his right arm to hold Tala against him and brought his left to Tala's forehead, tilting the teen's head to rest against his shoulder.

Tala shook his head and tried to free himself, his elbow catching Hiro's ribs as he ground his teeth and locked his jaw. The tendons in his throat flexed and locked, as though holding back a scream. Tears leaked from his eyes and his mind grew hazy. A sharp tug against his chest from Hiro was enough for him to decide on giving up the fight and he sagged against the older Granger brother tiredly.

With his chest pressed up against Tala's back, Hiro could feel the silent sobs shaking the young Russian as icy blue eyes stared up at the ceiling blankly and tears rolled down ivory cheeks. Closing his eyes, Hiro sighed. Each of the Russians was heading for an inevitable break down, and he wasn't sure how much more his brother's team could take, either.

"Hilary," he called quietly. The girl lifted scared, concerned brown eyes to look at him. "Don't tell anyone, all right? He'll be ok in a few, just give him a moment. He hasn't been sleeping – he's probably just excessively tired."

She nodded stiffly and licked her lips. "Can I..." she trailed off then tried again. "I want to help. I wanna help them," she declared. "Just watching them, seeing how strong they were, always helped me, made me stronger. Yeah, it sounds ridiculously corny, but it's true. I wanna return the favour; I want to help."

"Then help me help Tala by keeping quiet about this. It'll rattle his entire team and Kai if they find out about this – they're barely hanging on as it is." He waited until the girl agreed before going on. "Once he's calmed down, help me get him to the living room, ok? I don't trust his body to be able to cope with much more." He looked at Tala out of the corner of his eye and sighed. The usual fierce blue eyes were dim slits shadowed by fluttering lashes. _I don't trust his mind to be able to cope with much more either_, he thought.

* * *

Rei's eyes slipped open slowly. Stretching, he rolled onto his front and groaned, burying his face in the pillow. It hadn't escaped him that Kai's bed hadn't been slept in but he chose to ignore it nonetheless. Lifting his head, he glanced at the time, surprised by how long he'd slept in. It was already half past 11.

Sitting up, he swung his legs around to place his feet on the ground and rested his elbows on his knees. He ran his hands over his face and massaged his temples. For a moment he simply stared at the pattern of the carpet. It was ribbed, and a rich, dark brown that looked striking with the equally rich, dark wood of the furniture.

"Damn it," he mumbled, finally standing.

He wasn't surprised to find that Hilary had made breakfast and saved some for him. He fetched the pancake mix from the fridge and fired up the hotplate. He cocked his hip against the bench and stared off into space blankly.

"You're up," Ian noted as he entered the kitchen, heading to grab a glass from the cupboard. "We were debating waking you but Bryan of all people told us to let you sleep. If you don't sleep tonight, blame him, not us."

"Bryan did?" Rei repeated quietly as he poured a decent sized pancake into the frying pan. He tapped the spatula on the bench, waiting for the mixture to start bubbling so he could flip it. "That's..."

"Weird. I know," Ian laughed after sculling the glass of water. He slipped it onto the top of the fridge so he could use it later. "Tala's still sleeping, too. Though it's kind of in an inconvenient location and I think it may be driving Tyson and Diachi mad."

Rei laughed as he flipped the pancake. Damn, he wasn't even hungry and this one was huge. "Why's that? Where is he?"

"The couch."

"Really? Huh." Rei frowned. Perhaps Bryan and Tala had managed to effectively wear each other out last night after all. Rei had grown tired just watching them and when he'd eventually decided to head off to bed, they were still at. Still, the Russians' current room was closer than the couch. "At least – "

"Oi! Kai! Come back here, you bastard!"

Tyson's shouting caused Ian and Rei to look towards the corridor, just in time to see Kai walking silently past, not giving a damn for anyone. Tyson was hot on the older teen's heels and Rei called out after him, but the Japanese teen refused to listen.

"Kai!" Tyson snapped again, slipping into the older teen's room before he could shut the door. "Oi! _Listen to me!_" Tyson growled when Kai began to strip himself of his shirt, still choosing to ignore the Japanese blader. "You know what, screw it. Suit yourself!" And Tyson left, slamming the door behind him.

Rei winced, hearing the door slam, and he closed his eyes with a sigh. He could smell his pancake burning but he was too worn out to care, too over everything to care about something like his pancake burning. Still, small worries like that were nicer than the shit that was going to go down over the next few days.


	6. Chapter 6

**So... this is one hectic chapter right here, yesiree haha. We finally find out about what's in the email and people go skitz - yay! I'll warn you all now about the language in this chapter so... I hope you enjoy :)**

**Kavbj**

* * *

_Chapter Six_

Rei made sure to keep his jaw tightly clenched and his eyes focused on his balled fists, which were resting in his lap. So long as he didn't have to look up at the lawyer, Mr Dickenson and some other members from the BBA board, he would be fine. So long as he could roughly tune out the statistics and facts and horrible truths that were pouring from their mouths, he would be fine.

But that wouldn't work forever.

Sighing, he lifted his head slowly, unwillingly. Kai, who was seated on Rei's right, glanced briefly at Rei and punched his thigh softly, reassuringly. Rei scoffed quietly. Yeah, right, whatever. Standing abruptly, he grabbed the empty plate that had once held biscuits and cake, and moved to refill it. The perfect excuse to briefly get away.

Of course, it was open plan living so the kitchen and dining room were one room so really, Rei was failing at getting away, but it gave him enough chance at a breather. Leaning against the bench while he waited for the fresh pot of coffee to brew, he watched everyone else carefully.

His team was seated, including Kai, and Tala was on the right of Kai. The two of them had been placed practically in the centre, and to the left of where Rei had been sitting was Hiro. Bryan, Spencer and Ian were positioned casually but threateningly across the room. It wasn't their lawyer or Mr D that they didn't trust, but the other BBA staff. It'd long ago been proven that men and women who worked for BioVolt had slipped into the BBA staff and put up a very good act.

Rei frowned, noticing that Tala was breathing a little strangely. The Russian teen was having difficulties focusing on what their lawyer was saying and Rei had a funny feeling Tala was feeling ridiculously dizzy. He hadn't slept much in the past two days, not since he'd fallen asleep on the couch. The exhaustion was really starting to catch up to him.

Bryan must have noticed as well, because he moved from his position to stand behind his Captain. He squeezed the younger teen's shoulder then crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes, listening intently.

Finally, Rei realised he couldn't put it off any later and he rejoined them with fresh treats and coffee. Taking his seat, he leaned over to Kai and flicked his eyes in Tala's direction as he whispered, "he can't take much more of this, Kai. And I don't mean this discussion; I mean what's been going on. You didn't just affect us when you pulled your little magic trick and vanished."

"Tala's strong," Kai murmured, not bothering to look at the redhead. "He'll pull through."

Rei was silent for a moment, staring at Kai intently. "Everyone has their breaking point, Kai," he concluded before pulling back and focusing back on the discussion.

"Now, regarding the email I sent both Kai and Tala a few days ago," the lawyer began. Bryan braced his hands on the back of Tala's chair and Hiro leaned forward to place his elbows on the table. Everyone was undoubtedly curious as to what had been swiftly pushing Tala to his breaking point. "I trust you all know what it's about."

There was silence for a moment before Kai answered, "Tala's the only one who knows what's going on. He's the one who's been dealing with the issue directly, as you know."

The lawyer's eyes widened for a moment before he nodded. "Very well then... as you know, there are no charges presently against Voltaire and Boris, and the case is in the middle of being reopened. Because of this, Voltaire and Boris are allowed to take back custody of the five of you." There were a series of protests and the lawyer held up his hand, waiting until he could continue.

Bryan felt fear grab him by the heart, cold and fierce, and he almost lost it there and then. Gripping the back of Tala's chair tightly, he turned his gaze over to Spencer and Ian. They were watching the lawyer intently, waiting for him to say more.

He did. "Kai, as you know, you are under the custody of Voltaire. Do you believe this to be an issue?"

"The issue is that I'm related to him," Kai mumbled under his breath, before sighing and saying, "not really. It's not like he's ever forced me back to him or anything. I can still stay here right?"

"Yes. It doesn't appear that Voltaire is making any moves to have you brought back to Russia." There were sighs of relief from the Japanese National Beyblading Team and it showed visibly on their faces. "Tala, Ian and Spencer shall once again come under the custody of BioVolt and –"

"We are_ not_ going back," Tala snarled, slamming a fist on the table and baring his clenched teeth. "I'm not sending them back. I'll go but not them. That should be enough of a trade off, surely? I can captain and coach another, younger team."

"Tala, shut up," Spencer said coolly. "You go, we go. This isn't your decision to make."

"It is now," Tala snapped back. "I'm not sending you or Ian back. We'll set you up in an apartment here or something, but you aren't going back to that Godforsaken place."

Ian swore. "Stop being so stubborn, Tala. None of us are going back!"

"And you think they're going to settle for that?"

"What about Bryan?" Max asked quietly. The room fell silent and Max glanced around. He settled his gaze on the older Russian teen briefly - his hair shadowed his eyes, his head was bowed and his shoulders were tense. "What about Bryan?"

Tala put his head in his hands and shook his head. "Gods, Bryan, I'm so sorry... it's why I didn't want you, _any of you_, to see the email."

"_What about Bryan_?" Tyson growled, stressing the question, and he glared at the lawyer. "What happens to him?"

The lawyer ran his tongue over his teeth then sighed regretfully. "Boris is filing for custody, in effect immediately. He wants you back in Russia by the end of the week for the two of you to move to a property he owns in Iceland."

"What?" Kai blurted, nearly falling out of his chair. "Wha – no. No. Ok, no, he's not – he's not going back. Not alone, not to him. BioVolt is letting them stay, seeing as you never said these three _had_ to leave, and Voltaire doesn't give a _shit_ for me... Bryan is _not_ going." His breaths were coming out short and desperate, panic was making his limbs weak.

"Kai..." Rei murmured, squeezing his best friend's shoulder.

"No! He's not going!"

Hilary sat with a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks. "There has to be something – anything. Can you appeal or whatever you do?" she hiccupped, trying to stop the sobs.

The lawyer shook his head. "It's been overruled. There's nothing we can do. Once the case is reopened, we can try pulling Bryan out of his custody. If Boris is part of an open investigation, the government probably aren't going to let him keep Bryan. But that could be another six months from now, even a year. We don't know how long this is going to take."

Ian was shaking. "No, Bry, no. Ok. Stop it; I can see you considering it." Bryan slowly looked at the younger teen, trying to keep everything at bay, trying to keep it all hidden. His muscles were trembling with the effort and he couldn't seem to stop frantically swallowing. His breathing was shaky and the hairs on the back of his neck were on edge. "Kai's right, you're not going."

"He doesn't have a choice, boys," Mr Dickenson said slowly, gently, trying to get it to sink in.

"What if..." Hiro began, before trailing off miserably and shaking his head. "There's no way around this."

Diachi scoffed. "I can think of a couple illegal and fatal methods but there's a lawyer in the damn room."

"Shit, shit, _shit_," Tala hissed, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes. "Bryan, I'm so sorry."

Bryan lost it. "You bastard!" he screamed, his voice hoarse as he yanked Tala's chair back. Tala stumbled to his feet and slid up and onto the table, away from Bryan. Kai lunged at Bryan, tackling him around the waist and struggling to pull him back. "You fucking _bastard!_" Rei stood to help Kai hold the enraged teen back. It took four of them in the end to force him into a chair.

"Bryan..." Kai murmured, holding the back of the older teen's head gently and tilting it forward so that their foreheads touched. Tears dripped from Bryan's jaw as he bit his lip savagely, refusing to reveal his eyes to the world. "Damn, Bryan, I – damn it..." Kai breathed shakily, closing his eyes and slipping his arms around Bryan's shoulders to hold him tightly.

"Tala? You alright?" Tyson asked, noticing the shaken teen staggering from the room. "Where are you going?"

Bryan's eyes snapped open. "No," he snarled, pushing Kai off and knocking the younger teen to the ground. Kai swore and clutched at his head as it made direct contact with the floorboards. Distracted, Rei and Spencer moved to help the fallen teen, Hiro had already moved back to his seat, and Bryan moved after Tala.

Tala grunted as he was suddenly slammed into the wall. Lifting his gaze, he met Bryan's moon-coloured eyes, and winced. "Bryan, wait – "

"Shut up," Bryan demanded, backhanding the younger teen across the face.

Blinking hurriedly to clear his vision, Tala growled. "If that's how you're gonna be..." He lifted a kneed between them and drove it into Bryan's gut, briefly winding the older teen. Pulling free from the wall and Bryan, Tala took two steps back.

"You knew!' Bryan accused, his voice cracking as he swivelled and aimed a kick at the younger teen. Tala grimaced and blocked it. "This whole time you knew! And you said _nothing!_"

"What was I supposed to do?"

"I could have run. I could be half way across the globe by now!" A solid punch, a tug at red hair, moon-coloured eyes narrowing. Blood dripped from Tala's lips as another punch connected. "Fight me back, goddamn it! Isn't that what you always do?

"No, Bry, not now. Not when you're like this," Tala said calmly, managing to pull free. He started to walk away.

"I'm going back to him and you walk _away_?" Bryan shouted after his Captain. He groaned and clutched at his head. He was getting mixed signals. What was going on? The room wouldn't stop spinning. He knew he needed to pull back, needed to stop, even if fighting was instinct – thanks to Boris, no doubt. Boris...

Bryan saw red.

"Fuck you, Ivanov!" His fingers wrapped around the nearest weapon – a vase – and he threw it at the redhead. His aim was off – way off – and it smashed against the wall, but it was all he needed. He was on Tala in seconds. He had him pinned to the ground, his fingers wrapped around the younger teen's throat. He saw panic and fear in those icy eyes but it didn't register.

His fingers searched blindly behind him for a shard of the vase. The moment he had one, he clutched it to his chest protectively. One punch. Then another. Before he knew it, he couldn't stop. Blood decorated his knuckles and Tala winced as each hit connected. Finally, Bryan raised the vase shard above his head.

Tala's eyes widened and he struggled tenfold. "No, Bryan, no. C'mon, Bry, it's me. You're ok. I promise it's going to be fine. Bryan. Bryan. Bryan! Ngh!"

The shard pierced the skin enough for it to hurt but went no further. The pair stayed where they were, panting. Bryan stared at his fist, glared at it, demanded it to stab the redhead beneath him but he couldn't do it. "I... I can't," he choked out, dropping the shard to the ground. It'd sliced into his hand and blood dripped down onto Tala's skin. Tears fell silently.

"Bryan..."

"Come on, now. Off." Rei grabbed the older Russian so fast and hard, and had him locked in the nearest room so quickly, that it took Bryan a while to comprehend what had happened.

Tala sat up shakily. Kai knelt beside his best friend and grabbed him by the shoulders, searching his face worriedly. "You ok?"

"Yeah," Tala breathed, wincing as he touched his bleeding wound. Apart from that and the bruises that would form on his throat, he was fine. Oh and his split lip, of course. He looked at the two patches of blood either side of where his head had been. Even in such an emotional state, Bryan couldn't bring himself to hurt Tala and each punch had made contact with the floor. Tala looked at Kai. "You would have stopped him, right? I know you let us go – you know as much as I do that he needed to get it out of his system one way or another. But you would have stopped him, right?"

Kai was silent as he checked Tala's wound. "He could be half way across the globe right now, Tala."

"Don't. Ok. Just... don't. You didn't even have the courage to read the damned email in the first place!"

"I know," Kai admitted quietly. "And I thank you for taking it on by yourself but... Bryan – " Kai broke off and licked his lips. "Yeah," he murmured. "I would have stopped him."

* * *

"Hey, just calm down, alright?" Rei said, the pitch of his voice changing across every word as he tried to figure out how to handle the situation. He winced as photo frames were sent tumbling to the ground.

Bryan was staggering around, clutching at his head. Blood was smeared all down his face and his arm, and as he pushed off from the wall, he left a bloody handprint behind him. Tears tracked their way stubbornly down his cheeks no matter how many times the teenager wiped them away. He finally cried out and dropped into a crouch.

"What the hell was that out there?" Rei demanded, dropping into a squat in front of the older teen and trying to catch his eye. "Bryan, come on. You're not going back, we'll figure something out."

"What do you know?" Bryan snarled, tackling Rei backwards as his body once again demanded that he push himself to the edge. He wanted, _needed_, someone to fight him back.

Rei gasped and scrambled to pull himself free. "Hey, _hey_, enough. I'm trying to help!" he snapped, backing himself up against the wall and watching Bryan with wary eyes. Bryan was clutching at his head again and making strange, desperate sounds. Rei frowned. "You... hey, speak to me. What's going on?"

"Besides the fact that Boris Valkov is my legal guardian?" Bryan ground out. He held his breath momentarily, hoping to clear his thoughts, but it only left him panting.

"There's definitely something more."

"I don't know. Withdrawals or something..."

Rei's eyes widened. "You haven't been back since that night we fought, have you? Good on you, I guess."

Bryan felt that piercing pain in his skull again and his hands trembled. The only logical thought seemed to be that he needed to punch someone, _hard_. Growling, Bryan looked at Rei again. Already he was seeing it happen in his mind, predicting Rei's reactions, when another painful strike danced through his head. "Goddamn it, make it stop!"

"Bryan, you need to calm down," Rei urged. He stood, preparing to rifle through the drawers of – whose room was he in anyway? So long as he could find some pain medication for Bryan and the older Russian didn't cross paths with his Captain for a while, it didn't matter whose room he was in.

"Hey, Rei," Kai called as he opened the door. "Everything ok?"

Bryan's fight or flight instinct switched into flight the moment he saw the light filtering in from the hallway, and he was running past Kai, down the front hall and out onto the street before anyone could stop him.

"Damn it, Kai!" Rei snapped, moving to chase Bryan. A hand against his chest stopped him and Kai forced him back into the room.

Closing the door, Kai leaned back against it and watched his Chinese teammate carefully. "Just let him be. He needs to clear his head."

Rei snarled and balled his fists. "Yeah, you Russians need to get a brain scan. Your 'let him be' method doesn't really work, for _any_ of you! He is _terrified_, Kai. He's come at Tala, he's come at me – "

"What?"

Rei felt the emotion building in his throat, and his eyes and nose were beginning to sting terribly. "Don't act like you care," he snorted cruelly. "He's done it before anyway."

"Rei, when did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?" Kai demanded, stepping closer to the Chinese blader.

Rei took a step back for every step Kai took towards him. "_Don't_. Don't you _dare_. Don't suddenly act concerned, act interested, act like you're trying to help – you disappeared on me, on your team, on your friends and you've affected everyone and you don't even give a shit!"

"Rei – "

"No, don't you 'Rei' me, Kai. Don't." He was silent for a moment, letting it all sink in. "You didn't even tell me where you were going. Me. You didn't even bother telling _me_. Had we more time, I'd go on to yell and shout at you a bit more about how you've affected Diachi, and Max, and Tyson, etcetera, etcetera. But now Bryan's out there, somewhere, your Russian team is in shatters, and all you can say is 'let them be'. Screw you, Kai," he hissed as he pushed past the older teen and left the room, slamming the door behind him.


End file.
